In 1982, Eloise A. Brière received support from the Massachusetts Foundation for Humanities for a series of oral histories with Franco-Americans in Massachusetts. A noted scholar of Francophone communities, Brière interviewed 44 first and second generation immigrants from Canada of varied backgrounds, ranging from parish priests and nuns to former textile workers, activists in language preservation, and the Mayor of Holyoke.

The interviews in this collection, conducted mostly in French between August 8, 1982 and Jan. 18, 1983, document the lives and experiences of forty-four Franco-American residents of Massachusetts, concentrated in the areas around Easthampton and Lowell.